Wednesday, 2 November 2016

The fourth
full-length outing from Swedish gothic rockers Dr. Arthur Krause
flies the flag high for traditional gothic rock. Continuing to
channel acts such as The Sisters Of Mercy, Fields Of The Nephilim,
Joy Division, and Garden Of Delight through their atmospheric
formula of jangling guitars, baritone vocals, and bass so thick it
emits dry ice. Musically walking a similar path to Merciful Nuns, but
favouring far more atmosphere and lower tempos, 'The Only Time She
Moves' is a great example of modern guitar orientated gothic rock.

While you can't exactly praise the band for being innovative,
the fact that they stick to their guns means they are as a result
damn good at what they do. The album for the most part has a sombre
and slow pace with the likes of 'Loveland', 'Deported Soul II',
'Death Row', 'Never Whole', 'We are Doomed', and 'Gone Tomorrow'
running the gamut of the gothic rock style with electronic and
acoustic elements coming in to play to keep things fresh. While the
odd track injects brief shots of adrenalin with more up-tempo numbers
such as 'Midnight Rain', 'Evelina', and 'Go On Your Own'.

In
terms of the production, as mentioned before, atmosphere is king. The
sound is almost cavernous with Krause's vocals sounding utterly
phenomenal framed by the powerful yet haunting music. And while there
is the influence of classic gothic rock running throughout, the
band's execution is bang up-to-date.

OK, so there really
isn't anything new, or genre redefining at work here. But that
doesn't matter. What Dr. Arthur Krause presents is gothic rock, no
nonsense and as it should be. Not trying to emulate past glories or
hiding behind a retro facade, but proudly flying the banner for the
genre and writing fundamentally solid songs that hold their own with
classic cuts while carving their own identity. 'The Only Time She
Moves' sees some of the band's strongest individual song offerings to
date, and as a whole it is pretty much what any fan could ask for.